The Lost
by illman
Summary: The Doctor wants to show Rose the real Atlantis only to find out that a group of 21st century humans have taken up residence there. Odd things have been happening on Atlantis and, naturally, the Doctor decides to investigate. Xover with Stargate Atlantis.
1. Chapter 1

Title: The Lost

Author: Illman

Disclaimer: It's not my sandbox, I just play in it.

Rating: PG-13

Catergory: gen, h/c, crossover, adventure

Spoilers: none

Summary:_ The Doctor wants to show Rose the real Atlantis only to find out that a group of 21st century humans have taken up residence there. Odd things have been happening on Atlantis and, naturally, the Doctor decides to investigate._

oOo

Miko Kusanagi shivered. She wrapped her arms around her torso, hoping to conserve warmth and keep out the chilly wind. It was as if the temperature had been deliberately lowered in an effort to make the North Tower even more bleak and dreary.

The tall spire had nothing of the light colours and smooth architecture of the rest of Atlantis. The walls were black, the floor panels were metal, but they had lost their shine and looked corroded. That was odd, Miko thought, because the rest of Atlantis looked like ten millennia had gone by in the blink of an eye.

She paused to catch her breath before tackling the next flight of stairs and checked her scanner for the elusive energy readings that had started to come from the Tower for the first time a few weeks ago.

The scanner still showed a strong electromagnetic field, but it failed to pin a location on it. It was as if the field, or whatever was generating it, kept moving.

Miko reached the top of the last stairwell. A heavy black door was barring her way into the Lantean observatory. She checked her scanner again and confirmed that the energy field was behind the black door. Casting a look out through one of the slit-like windows, Miko felt her stomach lurch at the sight of the City, looking very tiny surrounded by a boundless ocean. She took a deep breath and reached for the door panel.

The metal felt cold as ice under her finger. She pressed the release switch hard and the door unlocked with a soft hiss. Still, Miko had to lean against the door with all her weight to get it to open even an inch. Suddenly the door gave and Miko stumbled into the observatory, tumbling head first into darkness.

oOo

Miko was confused. She felt sick and her head hurt as if a metal band was wrapped around it tightly. At first she didn't even know where she was. Only when she clambered to her feet and looked around, she realized that she had to be in the Lantean observatory. Foreign optical instruments, including something resembling a giant telescope, dominated the room. Through the windows, Miko could see Atlantis down below with the sun already low on the horizon. She couldn't remember how she had gotten to the top of the North Tower. The only thing she could recall was getting up in the morning after what had been more like a nap than real sleep. She remembered feeling dizzy and sick. She was wondering whether she was coming down with something, as she felt bile rising in her throat. She swallowed hard and braced herself on the window sill and closed her eyes.

Her radio crackled to life. "Dr. Kusanagi, please respond."

"Yes, this is Dr. Kusanagi." Miko couldn't quite keep her voice from shaking.

"Thank God, we couldn't reach you for three hours. Nobody knew where to find you. Where are you?" Radek's concerned voice came over the radio.

"The North Tower, I think."

"The North Tower? What are you doing at the North Tower?"

"I'm not sure," Miko answered even while she realized how stupid she must sound.

"Are you all right?"

"I'm not sure," Miko repeated.

"I think you should go see Dr. Beckett. Should I call him?"

"No, I'll be fine." Miko shook her head to clear the cobwebs. She couldn't afford to get sick; Atlantis needed each and every one of them.

TBC


	2. Chapter 2

oOo

"Where should we go next?" the Doctor asked, leaning against one of the railings inside the TARDIS. The rhythmic movement of the central column indicated that they were in flight.

"I don't know. Surprise me." Rose laughed. It didn't really matter where they went; there was always something she hadn't seen yet.

"Your wish is my command." The Doctor turned to the central console and started flicking switches and pulling levers. "A genuine lost city coming right up."

"Lost city?" Rose asked curiously as the TARDIS sprung into action.

"Yes. Ever heard of Atlantis?"

"Yeah, awful Disney movie. Don't tell me we are going to the movies?"

"Not quite. We are going to Atlantis and see it for ourselves. It's way better than the movie. Atlantis - bastion of culture and science and the hope of an entire civilisation."

The TARDIS shuddered slightly as they re-materialized. The Doctor jumped down the steps from the grille and headed for the doors. "Don't you want to come?"

oOo

Rose had never really thought about what the real Atlantis should be like, but this certainly wasn't it. Stepping out of the TARDIS, they had found themselves in a dark corridor that looked so generic it could have been anywhere.

"Must have landed in an isolated spot," The Doctor had mumbled and headed down the corridor so quickly that Rose had to run to catch up.

The corridor led into another corridor and another, reminding Rose of the interior of the TARDIS and the Doctor seemed to navigate the corridors just as confidently.

They rounded a bend, stepping into a large, empty space, facing towards a full-length window on one side and a closed double door on the other side. Rose was busy staring out the window onto nothing but water as far as she could see. The Doctor didn't seem distracted by the view, which was unusual for him, but instead he seemed to be talking to himself.

"Something wrong?" Rose asked.

"I don't know. The City feels off, somehow. This place should be full of life, crowded with people and refuges from dozens of worlds, but instead, it's empty."

At that moment, they heard a scream, followed by muffled shouts coming from behind the closed door.

"Looks like there is someone home after all," Rose commented.

oOo

To say that Carson Beckett was having a bad day would be an understatement. He was as deep in trouble as it could get without a full-scale invasion of Atlantis.

The very sharp blade of a scalpel was dangerously close to vital blood vessels in his neck and the woman holding the weapon was working herself in a deeper state of panic every second. Captain Rita Lexington, a fairly recent addition to the Atlantis crew, had come in, complaining about nightmares and headaches, but before Carson had been able to start examining her, she had snapped.

"You have to make them go away. I can't stand this, I can't. You have to take them away." Captain Lexington pleaded desperately. Carson had no ears for her words, all he could see was the blade twitching in her hand.

"Please, just let Dr. Beckett go and we can run another scan." Dr. Biro, the expedition pathologist, was spreading her hands in what should probably be a non-threatening gesture, but it was obvious that she was at the end of her rope.

"I don't need another scan! I need you to take them away!" Captain Lexington screamed.

"All right, we will get this sorted out, once you let him go." Dr. Biro tried to persuade the crazed woman who was convinced to be infested with some sort of parasite, which none of their scanners had been able to detect.

"No! You get rid of them right now. They are in my head, I can feel them! Don't treat me like an idiot." The captain's voice was so shrill that Carson would be cringed had he not been millimetres away from bleeding out in his own infirmary.

Suddenly, the doors opened with a hiss. For a second, Carson expected the cavalry to come bursting in, but then he heard a decidedly English and very cheerful voice.

"Oh, I'm sorry. We seem to have picked a bad moment. Still, maybe you can help us out. We are rather lost here."

Carson was yanked around in the captain's grip to face a teenager in jeans and a man in a pin-striped suit. He had gone over the edge, Carson thought grimly. Or maybe this was the afterlife, and they were about to invite him for a cup of tea.

"Who are you?"

"I'm the Doctor and this is Rose," the stranger introduced them.

"I don't need another doctor. I need these things taken out of my head!" Captain Lexington screamed almost hysterically.

"That's a good idea," the stranger agreed.

Captain Lexington was thrown for a loop by the sudden support for her cause, staring at the man as he pulled a wand-like object from his pocket. Carson saw his chance and took it, ramming his left elbow back and ducking away from the path of the blade at the same time.

Captain Lexington didn't make a sound as she collapsed to the floor. Realizing that she was down for good, Carson kicked the scalpel away and reached to check her pulse. He was vaguely aware of Dr. Biro calling for security as he felt a steady beat under his fingers. He looked up, torn between finding out who his unexpected saviours were and getting the unconscious woman settled on a bed. Dr. Biro relieved him of the decision when she and Nurse Coole took over Captain Lexington.

He was just about to ask the stranger where they had come from when the cavalry in the form of Lorne and his team burst through the doors, weapons ready. They too came to an abrupt halt when spotting the two strangers. Major Lorne was the first to recover his wits. He took a step closer to them, his P90 still pointed straight at them.

"Drop whatever it is that you are holding," he demanded.

The stranger appeared unphased by the group of soldiers.

"It's harmless, completely harmless," he said in a decidedly British accent.

The tip of the wand glowed blue and nothing happened.

"See, totally and completely harmless." The man pocketed the device and produced an ID card. Carson couldn't see what was on it, but apparently enough to make Lorne and his men lower their weapons at least half the way.

"The ID looks real enough." Lorne turned over the ID card, before handing it back to 'Colonel Smith'. "But you aren't. I have no idea where you got that from, but you don't sound or look like a Colonel Smith."

"Sorry, the uniform is in the laundry. But more important, can you tell us what year it is?" The stranger didn't appear to care that his cover story hadn't worked out.

"2006. But I don't see what that has to do with anything. Who are you really and how did you get here?" Lorne raised his weapon again by a few inches, until he was pointing level at the stranger's chest. The girl took a cautious step back.

"2006 – that's odd," The man said, frowning. "That's really very odd. You shouldn't be here."

"I think you got that wrong. You shouldn't be here, not without a damn good explanation." Lorne raised his weapon again. "Lewis, search them," Lorne ordered before tapping his radio.

"Dr. Weir, this is Lorne. We have a small problem down here in the infirmary." Lorne tapped his radio.

oOo

As far as prison cells went, this one was rather large and rather empty. It reminded Rose of a boxing ring – a free-standing, square cell, fenced in by a translucent blue energy shield. Outside, two burly young men were standing guard at the only entrance to the room.

Right when Rose was starting to wonder whether they would be left to rot in their dim prison, the door opened and a man and a woman strode through, carrying themselves like they were used to being in charge. They paused a few feet in front of the force field, apparently confident that their prisoners were secure.

"So, I hear you made quite the introduction in the infirmary, I have to give you that. But that doesn't explain who you are and how you got here." The woman held her arms crossed in front of her chest and looked at them with a probing gaze that made Rose almost uncomfortable.

"I'm the Doctor and this is Rose." The Doctor introduced them in a cheerful tone. "We wanted to visit some old friends of mine and it seems like we got lost on the way."

"Nice try," the man remarked. "How did you get here?"

"As I said, we were just on the way to visit old friends who used to live here, but it seems that their address has changed." The Doctor returned the question just as sarcastically.

"We haven't found your ship yet and we might not find it if your cloak is any good, but you owe us a few explanations if you expect us to let you go again." The man radiated hostility. Rose hoped that the Doctor would come up with something clever after the psychic paper hadn't fooled their captors and even the Doctor's usually convincing banter seemed to fall on deaf ears.

"You guys are bunch of explorers from Earth, aren't you? I can spot a Marine in any galaxy." The Doctor nodded in the direction of the silent door guards. "To be honest, I had no idea humans had ventured out to another galaxy already. You should still be exploring your own solar system." The Doctor tapped his watch a few times. "Really, your being here makes no sense at all to me."

"All right, let's play the game. You know where we are from, which tells me you aren't exactly locals here either. In fact, you look very 21st Century Earth," the woman remarked with a sparkle of humour in her eyes.

"Let's just say we are travellers, but you are right, Earth is one of my favourite planets in the universe. You just have to love humanity – always in search for what's on the other side of the hill or what's beyond the horizon. Gets you in trouble all the time, but you never stop, you keep pushing and going further all the time." The Doctor seemed to be enjoying himself as usual, off on a random tangent.

"I still don't know where you two came from, but we seem to have something in common after all. For now, I'm willing to believe that neither the Genii nor the Wraith sent you here. And frankly, I'm curious about anyone capable of space travel that we haven't met yet."

"Fine, that's great. It would have been a shame if we had to break out of here." Suddenly, the force field around them fizzled briefly, and then vanished. Rose looked at the Doctor, who winked at her.

"Neat trick. You got to show me that some time." Rose didn't understand what he meant, but she could tell that he was still distrustful of them. She couldn't really blame him. The Doctor had a way of appearing in the middle of chaos.

"Gentlemen," The woman interrupted the fight in the making, "I think we should continue this conversation somewhere else. I apologize for the unfriendly treatment, but your sudden appearance has caused some alarm."

"Yeah, that happens to me sometimes," the Doctor agreed happily and stepped out of the cell.

oOo

After their rough start, the City's inhabitants turned out to be fairly hospitable people, unlike some of the people she and the Doctor had dropped in on. There was an armed guard trailing them, but the man kept his distance as Dr. Weir, the woman apparently in charge of the city, gave them a short tour.

The City reminded Rose a bit of Platform One, where they had watched the end of the Earth in the year five billion. The walls and floors had friendly colours and large windows let in generous amounts of light. The thought of this place being more than ten-thousand years old seemed unconceivable to Rose. She had seen pictures of buildings from Antiquity, which were only a fraction the age of Atlantis and were reduced to ruins.

Rose could hardly decide where to look first when they emerged from a corridor into a huge room with coloured windows. There were all manner of controls and foreign-looking computer panels at their end of the hall. At the other side of the hall was the most curious structure – a stone ring. The astounding thing was that it was at least two stories high and wide. Stepping a bit closer, Rose could see that it was covered with runes.

Taking a moment to see what the Doctor was thinking, she noticed that he was oddly absent-minded, hardly looking at what was around him. He had seemed preoccupied ever since they had arrived in Atlantis, and Rose was wondering why. She was just about to ask, when the ring sprung into action. Rose nearly jumped at the loud mechanical sound of a heavy weight being moved. The ring was moving and the rune-like symbols were starting to glow.

"What is this?" Rose asked and turned to their guide.

"It's called a Stargate. It allows us to travel between planets in a very short time," Dr. Weir explained, not without a certain amount of pride.

It was amazing and breathtakingly beautiful to see the Stargate activate. Rose wouldn't have conceived of such a technology in her dreams. Mesmerized, she stared at the shining, silver-blue surface of the ring.

She was content to watch it ripple like water under the force of an unseen current, when suddenly several humanoid figures stepped out of the pool, emerging from seemingly nowhere.

The figures, a group of four men, were wearing unfamiliar, but distinctly military uniforms and carrying heavy weaponry and were waving towards Dr. Weir in greeting.

"The mission was a full success! The Simarians are happy to trade with us. They even gave us some presents to sample the merchandise," one of the men announced.

"That's good news, Sergeant. We'll meet for the debriefing in two hours. Dr. Beckett is waiting to see you in the infirmary."

"That's amazing." Rose had been following the exchange with curiosity.

"It is." The Doctor nodded with a broad smile. "It's even better when you go through it. It can shake your stomach a bit, though."

"You have been through one of those?" Rose asked, not really surprised given how long the Doctor had been travelling around the universe, but still in awe of this completely alien technology.

"Once or twice. I used to know the people who built this place quite well."

The Doctor's statement seemed to surprise their guide as she frowned in disbelief.

"I'm surprised you actually met them. As far as we know, the Ancients have left Atlantis over ten-thousand years ago. We have only encountered some of the very few that still live scattered across this galaxy. Sadly, most of their knowledge is lost to us."

"I see you got the Stargate working. That is no small feat in this century," the Doctor commented, ignoring the implied question.

Rose watched as the surface of the Stargate fizzled and then vanished behind the group who has just walked through. When she noticed the American flag patches on their shoulders, she realized what had been nagging at her all along.

"If this is the year 2006, I don't understand how people from Earth can be in another galaxy. We haven't even been able to land a probe on Mars yet." Rose recalled how the Guinevere One Probe had nearly led to the enslavement of humanity at the hands of very ugly aliens.

"The Stargate program is top secret. Only a handful of people in the world know about it. That makes me all the more curious as to how you managed to find us here," Dr. Weir asked, addressing the Doctor directly.

"We got here by mistake, sort of," Rose explained when the Doctor remained silent. She was waiting for him to jump in. She wasn't sure what to say and how much to reveal.

"It's not important how we got here," The Doctor finally said, brushing the question aside rather rudely. "We are here now and there is something wrong with this place," The Doctor paused for a moment and looked pensively. "I don't know what, though."

"What do you mean?" Rose and Dr, Weir asked at the same time.

"I don't know yet. I'll let you know when I do." The Doctor kept staring into space and Rose couldn't help but feel a bit worried.

"In the meantime, and I don't mean to be nosy…" Another man walked towards them from the consoles. "Our scanners found your ship and, by the way, it wasn't a good idea to hide it inside the City given it has to glow with energy according to our scanners." The man bounced slightly on his feet. "I have to admit I'm curious to know how you got here. I assume, and this is more an educated guess, you teleported in somehow, which must have taken enormous amounts of energy unless you came from somewhere on the mainland. And I can pretty much exclude that." The man looked at them expectantly.

"I'm Dr. Rodney McKay, by the way." The man extended his hand. Rose shook it, but the Doctor made no move to respond. Instead, he collapsed to a bony heap on the floor.

TBC


	3. Chapter 3

oOo

oOo

The Scottish physician had tried to keep her outside, but Rose had insisted and finally he had given in, under the condition she keep out of the way. Rose wasn't sure whether to be worried more about the Doctor, or about the reaction when they found out he wasn't human. She tried to reassure herself that they were in a mythical city in another galaxy. These people had to be used to seeing some pretty strange things when stepping through a giant puddle of water was everyday life.

Rose nervously shifted in her chair, trying to see what was going with the Doctor. Too many people were walking around, blocking her line of sight.

"Miss Tyler? Maybe you could have a look at the results for our scans; we don't have reference values for your people." The physician from earlier asked her. Rose was relieved that her fears for the Doctor's safety had been for nothing. The infirmary staff appeared fairly unconcerned about being faced with an alien.

"No, no. I'm from Earth. We just travel together." Rose shook her head and explained.

"Has this sort of thing been happening a lot?" She asked.

Dr. Beckett didn't seem surprised by her question. "Yes, as a matter of fact." He gave a little sigh. "So far, eleven people have collapsed, for apparently no reason."

"How are they doing? What's happened to them?" Rose asked, not sure she wanted to know the answer. The Doctor had said that there was something wrong straight after they had gotten here. It seemed like he was right, this time, the Doctor wasn't around the sort it out.

"Everyone has woken up, after a few hours. But all the people who have been affected, they have started to behave…oddly. Most of them have turned violent, against others or themselves. Nobody knows why. We had to sedate them and confine them to quarters."

"Can I talk to any of those people?" Rose asked,

"They aren't really in a state to speak to anyone. Except Teyla maybe, but she has taken leave absence soon after this all started. Why are you asking?"

"It's just - the Doctor said that something was wrong with this place and I think he was right." Rose wished there was something more she knew. With the Doctor, they were running into stuff like this all the time, but Doctor usually knew what to do. Without him to help, Rose was somewhat at a loss.

"Teyla said something similar before she left, but she didn't really want to talk about it. I'm afraid there is nothing I can do for you at the moment. I can give Dr. Taylor a call so he can find you a room to stay in." Dr. Beckett suggested.

Rose shook her head. "I'd like to stay here. If I can, just for a while."

"As long as no emergency comes in, I don't think you'll be in the way."

oOo

"Rose! Rose!"

"What?" Rose jerked awake, unaware that she had nodded off.

"Wakey, wakey." The Doctor was waving a hand in front of her face.

"Doctor! Am I glad to see you!" A smile spread over Rose's face. She had been seriously worried, especially after she had heard what had happened to the other people who had collapsed.

"Are you all right?"

"There is something definitely wrong here. What we saw was more than just your normally crazy and violent humans. Someone is getting into people's head on this city." The Doctor bounced to his feet and started looking around, as if searching for something or someone.

"I spoke to Dr. Beckett and he said something similar. A bunch of people have collapsed and started acting weird after they woke up. You are saying that something is responsible?"

"Would you prefer it to be someone?"

"I don't know. Seems less complicated that way,"

"That's a very human perspective. You can't sort out each other, but when there is a big ugly threat out there, you band together."

"Is that so bad?" Rose asked, laughing. Hearing the Doctor's familiar gripes about the human race made her realize just how heavy the load of worry had been.

"Nope." The Doctor shook his head. He collected his coat from the edge of the bed. "Come on, we have work to do."

Rose followed the Doctor out of the infirmary. Once in the corridor, she asked: "Where exactly are we going?"

"Talking to the people how knew the most about what's been going on."

"The kitchen staff?" Rose asked, remembering what the Doctor has pointed out on occasion.

"I doubt that would get us far this time. We need to talk to the people involved."

"They have been locked up in their quarters – how are we going to get to them?" Rose tried to keep up with the Doctor.

"Same way we always do. Sonic screwdriver, psychic paper and whatever else works. We'll get through the door," The Doctor reassured her confidently.

They stepped into small compartment which might have been an elevator or just a fancy cleaning shed. The Doctor got out his reading glasses and briefly studied the display at the back wall. He tapped against the display and a second later the doors of the compartment opened to a different section of corridor. Rose was still marvelling at their unnoticeable transport when the Doctor was already half-way down hallway.

"How did you know where to go?" Rose jogged to catch up with him.

"Atlantis, the city, she's alive, in a way like the TARDIS. She gets inside your head. All you need to do is ask her nicely and she'll tell you what you want to know."

"I'm not sure I like that." Rose closed her eyes for a moment, trying to reach out to the city, but it didn't work. "I can't feel anything." Maybe that was a good thing. The thought of an alien city getting inside her head was slightly freaky even though the TARDIS did a same, in a way.

"Doesn't work for everyone. The Lanteans were a pretty paranoid bunch." The Doctor replied, not stopping for a second. He disappeared around a bend and when Rose caught up, she found him standing in front of a non-descript door. He swiped the sonic screwdriver in front of the door panel and with soft hiss, the door slid open.

At first Rose couldn't see anything, until her eyes adjusted to the dark room. They had stepped into generous living quarters. The windows were darkened; the only light came from small lamp next to the bed. On the bed sat a young Asian woman. She was studying the new arrivals with wide eyes as she was huddled on the bed, arms wrapped around her knees.

"Who are you?" She asked in a small voice. The woman seemed dazed and Rose recalled that Beckett had told her the patients had been given medication.

"I'm here to help." The Doctor sat down on the edge of the bed. He reached out and gently put his hands to the temples of the woman.

oOo

The woman screamed like Rose had never heard anyone scream before. She surly had to alert everyone on the whole floor, she was screaming so loud. But as suddenly as she had started, she stopped. Her body fell slack and she slumped back on the bed.

"Whoa!" The Doctor jumped back, holding his head. "This thing, it's Ancient!" He staggered backwards.

"Are you all right?" Rose asked.

The Doctor didn't reply. Instead he fell to his knees, still clutching his head. Rose raced over to him.

"Are you all right?" She repeated.

"Yeah. I'm all right." The Doctor got back to his feet and shook his head. "This was unexpected."

"What was it?"

"Something very old. Something that's been stranded here a long time ago." The Doctor straightened his suit.

"What about her? Is she going to be all right?" Rose looked over to the young woman, who still hadn't moved.

"Once she sleeps off the drugs, she'll be fine. But we have work to do." The Doctor was already heading for the door.

"Are we going to help the others. Beckett told me there have been a few people this thing, whatever it is. got to."

"It could just come back. It will come back until it gets what it wants."

"And what is that?" Sometimes Rose hated that Doctor had a penchant for leaving questions unanswered.

"Finding the source. Something has been left in the City since the time of the Lanteans or even before that." The Doctor headed back to the transport chamber, or whatever it was that had brought them to this level.

oOo

"I don't think we can just steal a ship. I'm surprised nobody has stopped us until now." Rose thought of the people they had passed on their way down to the hangar. None of them had even seemed to notice her and the Doctor. It was odd, but when she was with the Doctor, people just seemed to accept their presence wherever the TARDIS had put them down.

"We'll be giving it back," The Doctor argued.

"And you are sure you know how the fly those things? We should take the TARDIS."

The Doctor didn't reply, but the flinch on his face told Rose all she needed to know. He didn't want to strain the tentative trust they had established with the citizens.

"We should find ourselves a pilot. When we tell these people what we know, they'll help us."

The Doctor seemed to consider her argument.

"All right, then. But you do the talking. I don't think they like me." The Doctor winked at her.

oOo

Rose had wondered about how the crafts got out of the hangar. Now she could see for herself how the ceiling opened up and they slowly rose towards the opening, into the bright sunlight.

Convincing one of the citizens to be their pilot hadn't been as hard as Rose would have imagined. Once the Doctor had talked to Dr. Beckett and explained the situation, he had talked to Dr. Weir and they had been given the okay for the trip, but not without Dr. Beckett accompanying them in addition to their pilot, Major Lorne.

Rose felt a bit nervous about surrendering the responsibility for her safety to a man who had been holding her at gunpoint just a few hours earlier. But if the major held any animosities towards her and the Doctor, he kept his feelings well hidden.

Just when Rose thought the entire planet was covered water, the edge of a landmass emerged far beneath them.

"What's this place called?" She asked no one in particular.

"The Mainland," Beckett replied, shrugging. "No one's gotten around to naming it yet."

"That's weird. But there is somebody living down there?" Rose asked.

"The Athosians. Their settlement was destroyed..."

Beckett was interrupted by a hard shaking of the ship.

"What's happening?" Beckett asked the major in alarm.

"I'm picking something up on the scanners. It looks like ship. It's heading right for the City."

"Wraith?"

"Who else? We need to warn Atlantis." An alarm starting blaring loudly throughout the small ship. "Atlantis, this is Major Lorne. We have incoming. A ship, possibly Wraith on straight course for the City."

The radio crackled to life. "Major Lorne, this is Weir. We cannot detect anything."

"Atlantis, please recheck your readings." The major sounded strained. Rose looked over to the Doctor. He didn't look concerned, more surprised.

"Negative. There is nothing there." The reply came from the City.

"That can't be!" The major slammed his hand against the console.

"Let me see." The Doctor stepped forwards and leaned in to look over the pilot's shoulder.

Rose watched, stunned, as the Doctor stumbled back with a groan and tumbled to the ground.

"You hit him!" Beckett screamed in protest while Rose run over to where the Doctor had fallen. He was already sitting up, holding his nose.

"Ouch! That really hurt." The Doctor climbed back to his feet, but took a few startled steps backwards when he came face to face with Major Lorne holding a gun. Dr. Beckett was sitting on the floor, blood streaming from his nose.

"You know, that really isn't neccessary." The Doctor still raised his hands in a non-threatening gesture.

"I know exactly who you are and what you want." The major yelled.

"I really, sincerely doubt that." The Doctor brushed the major's gun aside.

When the gun suddenly went off, Rose found herself screaming. "Doctor!"

"It's okay! Dr. Beckett, a hand, please." The Doctor was crouched over the major, holding down his hands at the wrists. For someone so thin, the Doctor had to be pretty strong, the major had to be considerable heavier and stronger.

"I'm not sure...what should I...," Dr. Beckett stammered.

"Help me hold him down. He's hallucinating."

"I assume you are a medical doctor?" Dr. Beckett asked, but did as the Doctor had told him. Once he had a hand free, he undid his tie and handed it to Dr. Beckett. "Help me tie him up."

Dr. Beckett hesitated briefly before helping the Doctor.

Rose heard a soft hissing noise. She looked up to find the source. The front window was cracked and there was a clear hole in the center. Mesmerised, Rose stood up. Horror registered when she saw a field of green and brown was rushing towards them and realized that they were falling. She couldn't feel any G-forces, but the view was clear.

"Guys, I think we have a problem." Rose pointed to the window.

"Oh my God." The ship shuddered hard enough to almost knock Rose off her feet. She couldn't keep her eyes off the window and the landmass below hurtling towards them at frantic pace.

"Rose, get to the floor." The Doctor brushed by her, racing towards the controls. "Dr. Beckett, you can fly this, right?"

Rose didn't hear the physician's answer as the ship started shaking in earnest. It was then that chaos really broke loose. From somewhere overhead, knocked free by all the shaking, canteens, torches and other objects started tumbling through the small craft. Rose pulled her hands over her head. In the front, the Doctor and Dr. Beckett were arguing and screaming as they fought to keep the ship in the air.

"...yourself! We... down." Rose heard the Doctor yell a warning over the sounds of screeching metal and splintering glass, but before she could hold on to something, everything exploded.

oOo

"That should do it." The familiar voice of the Doctor penetrated the dark mist enveloping Rose. For a moment, Rose lingered, torn between finding the source of the voice or drifting back into the soft and warm darkness. A hand squeezing hers finally pulled her awake.

"Doctor?" She asked, opening her eyes. She found the Doctor smiling at her.

"There, I though you wouldn't be long."

"I...what happened?" Rose asked, still somewhat dazed.

"We had a bit of a rough landing."

"We crashed," Rose concluded when she suddenly remembered the moments of panic before they had gone down. "We crashed. Is everyone all right?

"More or less," The Doctor said without further elaboration.

Rose looked around. The wreck of the ship was lying on its side. Black smoke was rising from the twisted metal hull. Looking at the mangled craft, Rose marvelled that they had escaped alive and much less unharmed.

Dr. Beckett was walking over to them. "I'm not sure it a good idea to try and reach the village on foot. It seems that you were all right when you said the major would be fine. It might be hours until we get there and that's if we find the way in the first place."

"We are close enough to the settlement. The villagers saw us go down. They'll be here soon enough," The Doctor said with confidence. Dr. Beckett still look unconvinced, but he said nothing more.

The Doctor knelt next to where Rose was sitting. "You can talk to the villagers about what's been happening."

"What about you?" Rose asked, already knowing that the Doctor was about to take off on his own.

"I'm going to have a look around," He said non-comitally and got back to his feet.

"I'll meet you in the village." The Doctor thrust his hands into the pockets of his suit and walked off. Rose looked after him. She had stopped wondering why the Doctor did what he did. Sometimes it was best not to ask questions. She wouldn't get a straight answer anyways.

TBC


	4. Chapter 4

oOo

oOo

Rose hadn't been sure what to expect of the villagers, but she hadn't expected a village of tents made of animal hides. When the citizens up in Atlantis definitely, lived in the 21st century or somewhere beyond that, the villagers were barely out of the Stone Age.

The two young women who had met them at their crashed ship had offered to take her to their village while Dr. Beckett wanted to stay behind with Major Lorne until help could arrive. Thankfully the village was close by. Rose hadn't exactly dressed for a trek through the wilderness. Aside from the conspicuous absence of technology, the Mainland looked very much like Earth, a kind of Stone Age Earth.

Despite the primitive appearance of the settlement, the inhabitants seemed to be used to the presence of advanced technology. The two women had kept a cautious distance from the wreck, but they had greeted Dr. Beckett with an air of familiarity that suggested they had met before. If they were surprised or concerned by Rose's presence, they didn't let on. Rose was struggling to follow their rapid strides through the rough country while they chattered on, not paying her any attention.

Despite the relative short trip, Rose was relieved when they broke from the forest and stepped into a large clearing. There were maybe two dozen tents spread over the open space. They were greeted by a gaggle of children. Unlike the older villagers, the children watched Rose with curiosity and trepidation. She could hear them talk amongst each other in whispers, until a girl finally stepped forwards and approached her.

"Are you from the city of the Ancestors?"

Rose wasn't sure what the girl meant, but thought it better to agree.

"You don't like look the others. You clothes are much prettier."

"Yeah, I suppose they are." Rose remembered the rather dull uniforms of the citizens and had to agree with the girl.

"Liann is making me a new dress. It's almost done. It'll be blue. I like blue, it's my favourite colour. What's your favourite colour?" If the girl had seemed hesitant before, she had regained her confidence very quickly.

"I don't know. Red maybe." Rose replied.

"I really like the colour of your top. I have never seen anyone wear that colour. Where did you get it?"

"Uhm, London." Rose wasn't sure what to say. This was the first time she met someone who had probably never heard of Earth.

"I have never been to that planet. I bet Teyla has. She travels with the people from the City." The girl said in obvious admiration.

"Actually, it's Teyla I would like to speak to." Rose looked around, but the two young women had disappeared between the tents. "Can you take me to her?"

"Sure. She lives in the big tent. Usually she lives with the people of in the City of the Ancestors." The girl skipped ahead and Rose had to hurry to catch up with her.

"Teyla has taken us to the City of the Ancestors, after we left Athos. I don't remember much about Athos, but Liann always says that it was the most beautiful planet among the stars."

"What happened to Athos?" Rose couldn't stop herself from asking, even though she had an idea that it was nothing good.

"The Wraith came." The girl stated as if that had been obvious.

The girl stopped in front of a tent in the centre of the village.

"Teyla! Someone from the City of the Ancestors wants to see you."

A few moments later, the tent flaps parted and a woman stepped out. Her hair was a deep shade of red that together with her caramel skin made her look very exotic. Like the villagers', her clothes seemed to be made from animal skins, but she also wore a blue top that wouldn't have looked out of place in London. The way she was dressed and the way she carried herself, suggested that she was used to being in charge.

"Thank you, Alyn. You can rejoin your friends." Teyla said to the girl before turning to Rose with a radiant and welcoming smile on her face that made Rose instantly feel better.

"I don't believe we have met before." Her voice betrayed a sadness her face didn't show.

"I'm Rose." Rose said somewhat sheepishly, not sure where to begin. "I'm…visiting At…the City of the Ancestors."

"You came with the Jumper that crashed in the woods."

"Yes. Somebody should get them some help."

"Veria has already radio-ed Atlantis. Major Sheppard and Dr. McKay will be on their way. Now, tell me what has brought you here." Teyla gestured for her to come into the tent.

It was pitch dark inside the tent. The thick smell of incense made Rose almost choke. Teyla didn't notice or pretended not to and turned to light some candles in the corner. Rose saw from the corner of her eye how Teyla slid a suspiciously advanced lighter back into her pocket.

"Can I offer you a cup of tea?" Teyla asked, already pouring a cup.

"Of course. Thank you." Teyla handed her a cup of foul smelling brew. Not wanting to offend, Rose took a sip. The tea burnt like fire in her throat. Spluttering, Rose coughed.

Teyla said nothing, but Rose saw a sparkle of amusement in her eyes. She took a deep sip from her own cup. She looked up and focussed on Rose.

"I'm here with a friend, the Doctor. He thinks he can help with what has been happening to the people in the City."

"There is no way to fight them." Teyla shook her head.

"Them?" Rose asked, discretely putting aside her tea.

"They have no name. There are stories of them, but even in the times of the Ancestors, they were feared. "

"What do these stories say?"

"The Ancients found them, in the ruins of a ship, on another world, far out in uncharted space. They brought back them back unknowingly when they took the ruins to Atlantis with them, to study them. Somehow, the scientists examining the debris set them free. They fell ill within the day. It says that they went mad. It's happening again now."

"How did the Ancestors defeat them?"

"They tried and failed, until they finally destroyed everything and everyone that had been touched. It says they tore the matter apart at its core. But somehow they must have survived and now they have woken up."

"We can't just kill everybody that's been affected!" Rose protested. "The Doctor can help. He deals with this kind of thing all the time."

"I don't mean to offend, but I doubt that any of your people can put up any sort of defence against them. Even the Ancestors were powerless." Teyla said dejectedly and Rose could tell that she was worried, not just about the people in the village, but also about the people in the City.

There was a rustle of fabric, Rose turned and found the Doctor stand in the entrance of the tent.

"Hello! I'm the Doctor."

"Teyla Emmagan, daughter of Tagan." Teyla bent forwards and the Doctor, obviously familiar with local customs, did likewise and they touched foreheads for a second.

"Tell me, Doctor, from where are you and Rose visiting? She told me you were guests in the ancestral city, but she never told me where you are really from."

"Oh, here and there. We really are travellers." The Doctor replied evasively. It's really more important that we are here now."

"Rose told me that you think you can help, but I'm afraid to say that I don't quite believe you. These beings cannot be defeated, they can only be destroyed. I said the same to Dr. Weir, but she wasn't ready to hear me yet. It isn't their way – to accept what is lost. They are always willing to put up a fight." Teyla sounded regretful, but also sad.

"That's one of the things I love most about humanity." The Doctor grinned, and then grew serious again. "They are coming, that's why you left the City. You want to protect your people."

Teyla nodded. "The City isn't safe. Not anymore. They hate the Ancestors and now that they are gone, they want revenge against anything that's left of them."

"Their descendants who live in the City now. But why haven't they lashed out before now and why play only little mind tricks?" The Doctor asked no one in particular. Rose didn't understand everything he and Teyla were talking about, but she was glad to have gotten out of the City when she had, even if it meant being stranded away from the TARDIS.

"I do not know. I can sense that they are few in numbers, but they are not real individuals. I believe they used to exist as whole, like a hive that is driven by a single mind. Sometimes, I can sense something other than hate, Loss, hurt, but those emotions only break through at times, as if they had no control over them."

"Or if they were not used to feeling something other than hate. When someone suddenly starts to feel, maybe for the first time in their existence, the result can be extremely explosive." The Doctor spoke from experience.

"You have been feeling them in your mind a lot longer than I have. Do you think you can reach out to them for a change?"

"I do not think it would be wise to try such a thing. Though I have been sensing their presence, I have been lucky to keep control of my mind. Others were less fortunate."

"I know and I'm sorry for your friends, but I promise, I'll find a way to help them." The Doctor locked eyes with Teyla.

"I hope you do, Doctor." Teyla said. "In the meantime, you are welcome to stay with us, unless you prefer to return to the City once another Jumper arrives."

"It would be a good idea of Rose stayed in the villager for a few days. At least until I'm back." The Doctor decided.

"Back from where?" Rose asked, surprised and a bit annoyed that the Doctor would make that decision over her head. Despite his superior knowledge of many things, the Doctor let her think for herself.

"I'm going to hitch a ride through the Stargate. You stay here with Teyla and try to hold them off."

"How?" Rose asked.

"Teyla will know." The Doctor replied confidently

oOo

Dr. Weir looked around the briefing room with a stern expression. Teyla had warned her weeks ago about what was coming, but Elizabeth hadn't believed her and sent her to Dr. Heightmeyer, the expedition psychologist.

Kate had agreed with Elizabeth that Teyla's nightmares and anxiety were probably due to the extremely high levels of stress she had been under recently, especially being having been held prisoner for several weeks and being drugged against her will by her captors.

Now, the crisis was coming to a head. In the past twelve hours, eight new cases had been reported. There had been several violent incidents, resulting in two injured people. All she could do for now was order the affected confined to their quarters and treated with medication to keep them calm. The strategy was little more than a stop-gap measure and as more people fell under the spell of whatever it was, daily operations were becoming compromised. Their own investigation, led by Dr. Beckett and Dr. Heightmeyer had produced little results; expect that all the people who had fallen ill were gene carriers, indicating that the attack might have been targeted at the Ancients originally.

The arrival of the two strangers had originally made her suspicious. Their presence was too convenient in a time when they were weakened. But the man, who only called himself the Doctor, was projecting an air of confidence. She couldn't help but believe that he knew what they were dealing with. Not only had he convinced her to let him travel to the Mainland, but he had also convinced Teyla to return to the City.

"I have been able to find the records for the address Teyla gave us." Rodney turned his laptop towards the rest of the group. "Unfortunately, most of the information has been deleted. There is a warning in the file however."

"Is there any chance of restoring the deleted information?" Dr. Weir asked.

"In a few years time, we might figure it out, but the short answer is no." Rodney replied, pushing a few keys on the laptop. "What is left is mostly geographical information. Nothing a MALP wouldn't have told us."

"Except that we can't send a MALP. If I'm reading this right, this planet is weeks away from the nearest Stargate."

"About a month away to be exact."

"Twenty-eight days, thirteen hours and fifty-six minutes at maximum speed to be exact," John corrected with a smile. He didn't like to show off his mathematical skills, but with Rodney's superior attitude, he sometimes couldn't resist.

"We could always take my ship," The Doctor proposed. All eyes rested on him.

Finally Rodney spoke. "No offence, Mr. Doctor or whatever your name is, but I took the liberty of running a scan by your 'ship'. Not that our scanners can penetrate it, but it looks like a blue box." To tell the truth Rodney didn't have an inkling of an idea how the Doctor and the girl had gotten on board the City. After detecting an enormous energy source outside the regularly used area, he and Radek had gone to investigate and had found a blue phone box that definitely hadn't been there before.

"The TARDIS should get us there in about ten minutes," The Doctor simply stated. "Who's coming?"

Elizabeth rested her hands on the table in front of her. "Considering that those with the ATA gene have been the first to be affected, I'm not sure Colonel Sheppard and Dr. McKay will be safe. Maybe…"

"I'm willing to take that risk," Sheppard interrupted her. Rodney looked uncomfortable, but eventually raised his hand. "I'm along."

"That sounds great! You two it is then." The Doctor bounced to his feet.

"That's all nice and good, but I think you should take Lt. Cadman and Dr. Zelenka as well."

"We'll be fine on our own. The TARDIS is quite sensitive to new passengers." The Doctor winked at her.

"If that is settled, I wish you the best of luck." Elizabeth said and got up, concluding the briefing.

The men left, but Teyla stayed behind.

"What is it?" Elizabeth asked.

"There is something I'd like to propose, but I didn't want to speak up in front of the others. It is difficult for me to explain, but I can feel that they are waking and gathering in numbers."

"You are saying it is going to get worse?" Elizabeth asked, visibly shocked.

"That is what I am feeling. As I said, I cannot explain how I know this, but I can sense it in my mind."

Elizabeth was sceptical. "It's not that I don't trust your instincts, but if I do what I think you are suggesting, Atlantis will be terribly vulnerable."

"If we do not leave, we could all be affected and Atlantis will not be protected either way. We must hope that they are successful." Teyla said urgently.

TBC


	5. Chapter 5

oOo

"It is bigger…" Rodney stared around the vaulted control room of the TARDIS. "This isn't possible! Even if there were such a thing as a stable tesseract, it still wouldn't explain how this place can exist?" Rodney jabbed a finger accusingly at the Doctor, as if he was personally to blame for breaking the laws of physics.

The Doctor laughed. "Careful planning, that's all. Everyone inside? Close the door, then. Ready?"

The Doctor looked over to his two passengers, mixed expression of amazement and guarded alertness on their faces, as he started flicking switches and pushing levers. Gradually, the TARDIS heaved into action, the central column slowly rose and fall and the engines started with their deep whining sound.

Outside the TARDIS dematerialized while inside the column started bobbing faster and faster up and down. The Doctor stepped back, satisfied that the TARDIS would take him and his passengers to their desired destination. Colonel Sheppard was leaning against one of the railings, feigning a casual expression. Dr. McKay was frantically pacing around the central control console, muttering under his breath. The Doctor had to suppress a laugh at the scientist who was shaking a hand-held scanner, and giving it an occasional knock.

"This simply isn't possible. I know I perfectly well that I am repeating myself, but these reading are off the scale. According to them, we are sitting on more power than an average sun. We should be dead. More than dead, we should be reduced to single atoms."

"Trust me, it's all well contained." The Doctor patted the console affectionately. "She might be getting old, but she's virtually indestructible."

"I guess that must really cut down on your insurance rate." Sheppard cracked. He wasn't ready to let on that he was a bit freaked out by the Doctor's ship. He knew much more about the underlying technology of the Jumpers than he normally admitted. Shortly after their arrival, he had asked Radek for copies for their research into the technology. After all, the Jumper got into his mind, he might as well know as much as possible about it. They were just scratching the surface of understanding Ancient technology, but the Doctor's ship seemed far advanced even compared to the Asgard. Although the Doctor's superior manner reminded him a lot of Hermiod.

The TARDIS shuddered, and then the column fell and stayed down. The whining of the engines died down as they materialized. The Doctor quickly examined the readings on one of the many monitors attached to the console, before he declared it safe for them to leave the TARDIS.

He stepped outside into inky darkness, hesitantly followed by John and Rodney. The military man was holding his P90 ready, while McKay was glancing at the life-signs detector.

John switched on the light mounted to his gun, casting a beam of light into the distance. The beam died down in the distance without encountering any obstacles. The Doctor produced a torch from somewhere and flicked on its giant blue beam.

Now they could make out that they had landed in a huge hall. The walls connected to a large domed ceiling that seemed to stretch into the infinity. Even the Doctor's torch wasn't strong enough to reach it.

"I don't detect anyone but us in here. Should be safe," Rodney declared, slipping the life signs detector back into his backpack and pulling out another gadget instead. The device emitted a beep. Rodney, apparently not satisfied by the results, shook it and pressed several buttons until it beeped again.

"What is it?" John walked over, trying to get a glance at the display. The Doctor appeared to take no note of their conversation; instead he was examining the nearest wall.

"I think the ship messed up the scanner. I can't get a decent reading. One second there is huge energy source, and then it's completely gone." Rodney tapped the scanner in frustration.

"Nah, not possible. It should be working perfectly. In fact there is…"

The Doctor was interrupted by a surprised scream from Rodney who was suddenly on his back. John ran over, only to bounce of an invisible wall and joining Rodney on the floor.

"What the hell was that?" John carefully reached forwards and indeed, his hand made contact with a solid, yet invisible barrier. He felt smooth, cold metal under his hands.

"This is amazing!" The Doctor was suddenly beside him. "Cloaked inside the hangar. Someone must have been paranoid."

"So it's a ship?" Rodney asked, still slightly thrown by the experience.

"That's what it says on the wall. They were building a ship in here. It was supposed to get them off the planet. Looks like they never finished it." The Doctor ran the sonic screwdriver past the cloaked vessel, gathering information only he could decipher. "It's not fully powered. The core is still recharging. The question is what it is drawing its power from."

"Nothing that I can pick up." Rodney was a bit put off that he hadn't managed to make sense of the scanner readings and had walked straight into the ship.

"I think I got a door or a hatch or something." John ran his hands along the invisible structure, feeling the edges of the door in the smooth metal. He found what felt like a handle and pulled it hard towards him. After some trying, the door gave and although it was still invisible, he could now reach into an open space inside the ship. The ledge of the opening was about a meter high. John tested it with one foot then climbed in.

Inside, the ship was now visible. The space he had climbed in was narrow and the ceiling was too low for him to stand up fully. At the other side of the space was another hatch, but this time, it didn't open by pulling. The hatch was sealed shut.

Meanwhile Rodney and the Doctor had noticed that he had seemingly disappeared and made their way to the invisible ship.

"John? Where the hell are you?" Rodney called out and John could detect a small amount of panic in his voice.

"I'm inside the ship, or whatever it is. There is hatch, but it doesn't open. There is a lock and some sort of console."

The Doctor pushed his way inside the ship and past John, squeezing by so he could access the console. The look was based on some sort of combination, but it wasn't too sophisticated for the sonic screwdriver. After a few seconds, the panel lit up blue and with a click, the hatch unlocked.

"Lead the way," The Doctor gestured to John. Still operating only with the light on his P90 and now the Doctor's torch, John climbed through the hatch and fell into darkness. The last thing he heard with a terrible screech, then everything went black.

oOo

The piercing screech mingled with the Doctor's own scream as pain shot through his head. Their presence was stronger than ever before. There were thousands of them, maybe even millions. He could sense their collective confusion as they had been woken from millennia of sleep. They thought to understand what had stirred them. They were trying to push their way into his thoughts and memories and it took every ounce of mental discipline he had to keep them out. Knowing he wouldn't be able to hold them off for much longer, he searched for the sonic screwdriver he had dropped before. Painfully, he managed to curl his finger around it. Raising his arm was the most difficult thing he had ever done. His body felt like it was weighed down with lead. He felt them weaving their tendrils into his thoughts. His mental barriers were crumbling when he finally managed to activate the sonic screwdriver.

The burst of energy shot up from the tip. They screamed in pain inside his head and the Doctor blanked out.

oOo

John woke up in a haze of pain. Not quite willing to face reality yet, he tried to shift to a more comfortable position, ready to drift off again to pain-free oblivion when he realize he couldn't move. His eyes flew open to unfamiliar room lit in an eerie green-blue light.

Looking down at himself, he could see solid bands stretching across his chest, binding him to the pillar behind him and immobilizing his upper arms, preventing him from reaching back and trying to untie himself.

Looking to the side, he saw Rodney and the Doctor tied up in a similar fashion to neighbouring pillars. Rodney was slumped over, probably unconscious, but the Doctor was awake, cutting John a half-smile.

"Rodney! Rodney!" John called out, whispering as loudly as dared.

"He is merely…asleep. That is what you call this state of being, right?" A figure stepped out from behind one of the pillars. He seemed to be human, but when he came closer, it became obvious that there was something very wrong with his features. His face was almost white in the greenish light, but even then John could see that the face was too flat. He didn't have a discernable forehead or cheek bones, merely a sharp nose jutting out and dark sunken eyes. His hair was either white or completely colourless, the light made it difficult to distinguish colour.

"That's right. Except that he isn't asleep, is he? You trying to get into his mind and soak up every bit of information, every private memory. That's what you do, isn't it? Sneak into the thoughts of other life forms."

"We only resort to these measures because we have no other choice." The alien declared in a tone that suggested there would be no further discussion on the subject.

"Then tell me this," The Doctor went on. "If you can read all our thoughts, you ought to know what a proper human looks like. Yet a walk around looking like deformed shop window dummy."

"This crude form is merely a means to an end. It is you who has impaired our ability to manifest ourselves. Tell me, how does one of your kind come to allay yourself with primitives like these." He gestured towards John and Rodney.

Rodney would have protested at that, John thought, carefully watching the scientist for any signs of waking. The worst of the pain seemed to have passed. Only a headache lingered, but the thought of them fondling through his memories made his sick. Not to mention the shudder the thought of the damage that could be done with his and Rodney's knowledge gave him.

"Oh, I just happen to like humans. The more important question is what can you learn from such a primitive lot?" The Doctor retorted.

"We are just the few that remain. When we left our home galaxy, we were ill prepared for how far life had developed in this galaxy. The Wraith caught us by surprise. Only a single ship could escape, but we crashed on the deserted planet with no hopes of ever leaving it again."

"Until the Lanteans came here and gave you a chance to leave. So, why are some of you still here?" The Doctor had managed to turn around the alien's game, putting them into the position of having to answer questions.

"We needed to remain undetected. We hoped to join the others; instead they were destroyed by the Lanteans. But that is of no consequence now. We have you now." The alien's voice was flat, but John thought he could detect a hint of a smile on the misshapen face.

"You must need us for something. Why else would you have kept us lower forms around this long?"

"We are not in the habit of killing for sport. Once we have absorbed all your knowledge you will power our ships, so that we can finally leave this prison."

"I can't say I like the sound of that," John commented, hiding his worry for Rodney who was still unconscious. Hopefully their gathering knowledge wouldn't do Rodney's brilliant mind any damage. At least he and the Doctor seemed none the worse. "How exactly are we going to power your ship?"

"By the energy that flows in the Time Lord's body. Our collectors have to be adapted for your species, but they will be ready soon. We shall not be delayed much longer."

John looked at the Doctor. For the first time, there was a hint of fear in his otherwise confident expression. If the situation hadn't been so bad, John would have felt just the tiniest pleasure out of seeing a crack in the Doctor's smug façade. For someone who easily outdid Rodney in the ego department, the Doctor would probably have to have his back again the wall, before he admitted defeat or even fear.

Still the Doctor visibly pulled himself together. "You don't need them. There is nothing you can learn from a human that you cannot learn from me. Think about it, nine-hundred years of travel through space and time, compared to people who haven't even seen their own solar system yet."

"You have a point." The alien said, cocking his head. "There is little knowledge to be gained from the humans, although this one is rather intelligent for his species. We might need him in the future. There are some things that we have lost along our path of evolution." When snapped his fingers, Rodney promptly started to stir against his bonds.

With a groan, Rodney jerked up, eyes open.

"Where…?"

"Inside an alien ship. And they aren't the hospitable kind," John said. "Are you all right?"

"I can see that." Rodney experimentally wriggled against his restraints, only to find that they were extremely solid. "And no, I'm not all right. I'm tied up."

"Will you release them?" The Doctor fixated the alien with a steely gaze.

The alien's face quivered for a moment, before a distorted smile spread over the unfinished features.

"We shall not let them go. They shall come with us and witness how we take our revenge on the Lanteans."

"Hate to break it to you, but the Lanteans are gone. You are about ten thousand years to late." John quipped in an attempt at levity.

"You lie. You forget that we have looked into your minds. We knew that you have to power of the Lanteans within you

"If you expect us to help you, it's not going to happen." John said.

"It will not be necessary. The Doctor has already agreed to co-operate to spare you. Come and don't worry, you will not be harmed."

Suddenly a second figure appeared, looking exactly the same as the other alien. "Follow me."

The bands around John and Rodney snapped instantly. Both men clambered to their feet, their muscles stiff after being tied up for hours.

"You shall come with me." The first alien addressed the Doctor and his restraints too snapped.

"In a moment. Allow me to say farewell." Without warning the Doctor pulled Sheppard into a hug. John's instinct was the push the other man off him, but he suspected that the Doctor had a plan. Sure enough, he felt the Doctor slip something into the pocket of his jacket.

"A most curious custom. Physical touch must seem such a poor substitute for mental unity." The alien commented.

"It's good enough for me." Sheppard replied, plastering a smile on his face.

TBC


	6. Chapter 6

oOo

Their prison was eerily familiar. John had to remind himself that it was merely a Wraith cell that was generated from his memories and that he was not in fact on a Wraith ship.

"Nice and cosy, isn't it?" John said lightly once he and Rodney were alone.

"Yes, I'd rather have dinner with Kolya. The Doctor slipped you something, didn't he?"

"How very observant of you. I'm just not sure what he thinks we should do with it." John pulled a wand-like object from his pocket.

"Looks like a fancy penlight. Present for Beckett?"

"I doubt it." John rolled the object around in his hand and it suddenly flickered to live, its tip emanating a blue glow. "Mentally activated, or so it seems." John tried to think it off, and after a few seconds of flittering, the light died. "I don't think it's Ancient though. The Doctor certainly isn't an Ancient. Time Lord, that's what Picasso-face called him."

"The technology is all wrong, too. Frankly, I haven't got an idea how his ship works. According to the laws of physics, it shouldn't even exist."

"Because it's bigger on the inside?" Despite their current predicament John had to smile at how worked up Rodney could get over currently insubstantial details.

"That's just for starters. I have no idea..."

Rodney stopped in mid-sentence when the bars of their cell suddenly wavered and then vanished completely.

"How did you...?" He asked, staring at John.

"I'm not sure myself." John frowned. "Not that I mind." He stepped out of the cell into the corridor.

oOo

Liann set down a steaming bowl in front of Rose. The food, some sort of meat with what looked like roots of some sort gave a strong, spicy smell that reminded Rose of how hungry she really was. Since their arrival in Atlantis, she hadn't had any food.

Thanking Liann, Rose hesitantly began to eat, taking the food carefully with her fingers, mimicking Liann and the two girls who had invited her to stay in their tent until the Doctor came back for her.

Despite the welcome reception , Rose felt out of place. Without the Doctor, who had a way of fitting in no matter where are when they ended up, she felt alone and ill at ease.

Part of her blamed the Doctor, for stranding her in a stone-age village for who knew how long. It wasn't like him to leave her behind like this. She supposed he had his reasons, still she was annoyed at treated like a child. At least he could have told her what he was planning. Rose had to admit that she was more worried than angry. She had seen how the aliens had affected the Doctor earlier in the city, but of course he wouldn't let that stop him, that wouldn't be like him. For the moment, there was nothing she could do, but try to fit in with her hosts as well she could.

"Is the food all right? I'm afraid it is a very simple dish, but the wheater hasn't been too kind. There was a quite a storm yesterday and we couldn't go out into woods safely."

"It is fine." Rose lied. The meat tasted nothing like the meat she was used to on Earth. It was fibrous and though to chew with a strong taste that Rose couldn't quite place.

"Can you tell us a story?" One of the girls asked.

"You have to excuse her. They enjoy the stories from your world. Most are kind enough to indulge them." Liann smiled.

"Of course," Rose said. It wouldn't be polite to decline after the hospitability the Athosians had offered her.

"Yes, please. Tell us more about London? What's it like there?"

oOo

His senses were slowly fading away and so was the burning pain that had taken all over his body. His vision was the first to go. At first he had thought it was simply a matter of the light dimming, until he had realised, that slowly he was turning blind. His arms and legs were the first to go numb. They went cold and heavy, making any struggle against his restraints impossible. It wouldn't have worked anyways, the bonds were far too tight and solid to wriggle himself free. If he still had his sonic screwdriver, he might have been able to free himself, but with his fingers, hands and arms growing numb, he wouldn't have been able to hold it anyways.

The Doctor forced himself to remain calm, confident that he had the mental discipline to shield most of his mind from the aliens. If he showed them what they wanted to see, he stood a good chance keeping them occupied for long enough until the Atlanteans figured out a way to stop them.

He didn't know for how long he had hovered in complete senselessness with only his thoughts to occupy him when he suddenly heard something. It sounded like voices, many of them, all talking and screaming at the same time. As he focussed on them, they grew louder and more distinct. There were at least dozen of them, all individuals whose minds had been trapped by the aliens.

Some of them were screaming in distorted voices, some muttering senselessly, other singing in high pitched tones. Their ranting and screaming made no sense to him. It was just a cacophony of voices gone mad. Slowly, the Doctor realized that this was exactly what had happened to those people. They had been trapped for so long, deprived of their physical bodies that they had gone insane. It would happen to him as well. Eventually he too would lose reason. He might last longer than the average humanoid, but time was nothing to the aliens. They had endured for millennia until he and the two men from Atlantis had arrived and woken them from their sleep. He wondered for how long the other minds had been trapped. He was fairly certain that these people were the last survivors of the original inhabitants of the planet. He hadn't thought much of it when he had seen the inscriptions on the walls of the hangar, but it seemed logical that they had been made by physical beings, probably the natives of the world were the aliens happened to have crashed. If a few of them could drive an entire city over the edge, an entire ship carrying possibly thousands or even millions would consume a planet in virtually no time.

oOo

"I thought you said you could fly anything." Rodney accused as he watched John circle the central console for the third time. John had no clue how to fly this impossible machine, of that Rodney was certain. For his part, he couldn't even begin to explain how the Doctor's ship worked. It seemed to lack just about everything a space ship needed. Of course, seen on a cosmic scale, Rodney's experience with space ships was quite negligibly, even if he was one of the, if not to foremost expert on alien technology on Earth (and by extension - on Atlantis).

It had looked easy when the Doctor had piloted his ship. There were countless levers, buttons and other control instruments John couldn't begin to name. They could be here for a week and probably be no closer to getting the ship off the ground.

John crossed his hands behind his back and was about to admit defeat to Rodney when a searing pain surged through his head. He dropped to his knees, going down hard on the grille. Rodney was immediately at his side and caught him just in time before he went limp and crumpled to the floor.

For a moment, there was absolute and totally darkness. It dissolved as suddenly as it had come on and John found himself in a stark white place. He looked down on himself in confusion. He was still wearing his Atlantis uniform along with his tack vest. Somehow that seemed inappropriate.

"My apologies for the unusual venue." A voice said and John looked up to find the Doctor standing a few feet away, hands stuffed in the pockets of his long coat.

"Where are we?"

"Everywhere and nowhere." The Doctor replied cryptically. John was about to protest, but he let it go. He had the feeling that the Doctor had brought them here for a reason.

"There isn't much time, but I need you and Dr. McKay to do something."

"We had a look around your ship, but there is no way I can fly it."

"I know. Unfortunatly there is nothing I can do about that now." For moment, the Doctor's image wavered, becoming translucent, but then he was back.

"What do we have to do?"

"Free the crew. They are being kept in hibernation somewhere on this ship. They need them. Without human brain activity, they can't keep their physical forms."

"So when we unplug everyone, they will disappear?"

"Not disappear, no. But they won't be able to interact with the physical dimension anymore. At least until they find more minds to feed off."

"How do we stop them from doing that?"

"I'm not sure. I hope you and Dr. McKay will figure something out. But you'll have to be fast. Once they loose their foothold in our dimensions, they will be trying even harder to take over any minds that they can find."

"They will come after us." John nodded gravely.

"I'm afraid so. I'm sorry for doing this to you." The Doctor said before he flickered away and disappeared.

oOo

"Major, major, breathe! You can't do that. Not now!" Rodney was close to tears, something that hadn't happened to him in years. But right now, he couldn't have cared less.

After John had collapsed, Rodney had called for him to wake up and even slapped him in the face a couple of times, but to no avail. Then he had started to turn purple. Endless seconds had gone by, until he had finally found a thready pulse. But his relief was short lived when John went from purple to blue. He knew that he was supposed to do something, but his mind had gone blank.

Then, John suddenly drew a deep, gasping breath and his eyes flew open. They drifted close again a moment later, but John kept breathing and soon returned to a healthy, if a little pale colour.

Rodney watched in silence, the whole episode had been so surreal, that his mind refused to process.

A soft groan coming from John finally jolted his mind back to the present. He gave John's shoulder a careful shake and John promptly opened his eyes again. They found Rodney almost immediately, When he saw the recognition in them, the fears that he hadn't even voiced eased.

"Rodney." John said, more stating a fact than asking a question. Rodney didn't care – John would be all right.

"What the hell just happened?" John sat up and rubbed his forehead.

"You keeled over." Rodney wanted to say more, but something stopped him. They could talk about it later and he would be sure to let Carson know, even if Sheppard refused.

John got to his feet and said, "We have work to do."

oOo

Rodney had followed John through a maze of corridors and to his great surprise, not only seemed Sheppard to know exactly where they were going, but they also didn't run into any of the aliens.

They finally stepped out of the narrow corridor into an impressive hall. It bore an eerie similarity to what they had found aboard the Aurora. Rows of pods lined the walls extended so far that in the rather dim light, it was impossible to even guess how many there were.

Rodney's attention fell to a panel in the wall next to the entrance. He went over to study it in more detail, while John had a closer look at the pods themselves.

He was not really surprised when he spotted a familiar face frozen in one of the pods closest to the entrance. The Doctor

"What have you got?" John turned to Rodney.

"What exactly am I looking for?" Rodney shot back an acerbic reply. It seemed to be one blow to his ego after the next. Stumped by the Doctor and his ship, he was standing in front of which consisted only of a series of unlabeled buttons in different colours beneath a screen that was currently blank. The whole set-up had an unfinished look, probably owing to the limits of the aliens' ability to manifest physically.

"Just hit something." John said with a shrug, after he had taken a look at the panel.

Rodney didn't really feel comfortable with trial and error, not when lives were on the line, including his own. "Are you sure that's such a good idea?" Rodney had been happy to follow John's lead, but as his mind was catching up with everything that had happened, he was starting to wonder just what had happened while they were inside the Doctor's ship.

"Just hit it." John's voice was sharp and commanding.

"I don't think so." Rodney turned towards the colonel with his arms crossed in front of his chest. Something was wrong with Sheppard – maybe he hadn't come out of the experience earlier unscathed. For once Rodney wished Carson could be here. A second later, he wished for Lorne and his team of marines as Sheppard bodily pushed him forwards, nearly slamming him into the wall.

Rodney was stuck between a rock and a hard place. He was no match for Sheppard and in his present state he was capable of anything. But following Sheppard's lead when he clearly was not in his right mind was tantamount to suicide. Rodney did not have to decide because before he could muster a response, Sheppard slammed his hand against the buttons.

A high pitched wail cut through the silence and the screen above the buttons lit up. Rodney knew immediately what he was seeing. Testament to one to many visits to the infirmary, he recognized the brain patterns on the screen. There were many patterns overlaid, most of them barely registering.

"I need you to wake up as many people as possible." Sheppard who had been silent for the last few minutes as Rodney laboured over the panel, sounded flat and void of all emotion. Rodney shot a quick look back to him, but didn't allow himself to worry about the colonel's nearly white face and the decidedly vacant look in his eyes. He had to trust that Sheppard, or at least some part of him knew what they were doing.

Hitting the buttons more or less at random, Rodney managed to turn of the alarm. Suddenly, solely by chance he must have hit the right combination.

The collective hiss of pods opening sounded like a train going past on breakneck speed. Then everything faded.

TBC


	7. Chapter 7

oOo

"You world sounds quite wonderful. So very….different from our lives here."

"I suppose it is," Rose replied, suddenly feeling a bit home-sick. Being with Liann and her two children reminded her of her mother back home and of how far away she really was without the Doctor and the TARDIS around to take her back any time she wanted.

"Yet you leave it behind to travel to the stars. Does your family not miss you?" Liann asked, smiling gently.

"My mother does. I miss her too," Rose admitted, trying to ignore how tight her chest suddenly felt.

"You must be tired. I will show you were you can sleep tonight," Liann offered, her voice soft with sympathy.

Realising that she wouldn't be good company in her present state of mind, Rose nodded in acceptance.

Liann got up, showing no sign of strain after sitting on hard packed ground for over two hours. Rose on the other hand, despite being around ten years younger, couldn't help but wince when got back on her stiff and aching legs.

The sleeping area was separated from the rest of the tent by a thin curtain. It wasn't much of a bedroom, at least not like the ones she was used to on Earth. There were two low pallets of what looked like straw, barely covered with a few furs and rough woven sheets. A small oil lamp stood in between them and the smell of liquid burning filled the alcove.

"I shall stay up tonight," Liann spoke from behind her. "We can feel them closing in, but they can only hurt us when we are vulnerable. The children's minds aren't strong enough yet to keep them out, but they'll be safe with us watching over them. At least for a while. I do hope your friends are victorious."

"So do I," Rose said and nodded. The thought of going to sleep when aliens were trying to invade her mind, terrified her. She recalled the crazed young woman they had met just after their arrival. The look in her eyes had been one of abject terror. The thought of the Doctor having gone to face their enemy head on filled her with worry. She had a lot of confidence in him, she had seen him escape from impossible situation before, but she couldn't forget that behind the broad grin and silly banter, the Doctor wasn't indestructible.

oOo

The return to the physical world was sudden and brutal. Like being thrown into a pool of ice cold water - lights, sounds, smells and sensations exploded around him. The Doctor found himself coughing and gasping for breath, his body reeling from the shock of the mental connection to the hive mind having been cut off.

Left on its own, his brain was struggling to process what was going on around him. Gradually, the cacophony of noises resolved into voices and eventually words that he could understand. Bits of sights and sounds coalesced into a whole and the Doctor found himself in the darkened hall where they had first landed.

All around him, humanoid figures were starting to wake up. Cries and sobs filled the air as the surviving members of the original inhabitants returned to the physical reality after having suspended vacuum for millennia with only themselves and the minds of their fellow prisoners to keep them company. The Doctor couldn't imagine the overwhelming shock they were going through. He had been separated from his body for only a very short time, hours at the most, and already his brain had to painfully readjust to the outside world.

The Doctor got to his feet, somewhat unsteady on his legs, but slowly gathering his bearings. The two men from Atlantis were walking towards him, both looking more than a bit rattled from the experience.

"Good job. Unfortunatly, it isn't going to last. Not unless we do something to stop them once and for all." The Doctor told them.

"What about them?" McKay gestured at the surviving members of the original crew. "There has to be something we can do to help them."

"I'm not sure there is anything we can do. They have slowly been drained for thousands of years. There is only so much a body can recover from." The Doctor said sadly. He desperately wanted to help these people. They had done nothing to deserve this, but touching their minds while he had been connected to the alien hive mind, he had seen only despair and madness. There was nothing he or anyone could do for them. Still, he couldn't leave them here to die. Those few, whose bodies had survived during all that time, didn't deserve to die like that. He had freed them to die, he couldn't leave them now.

"The TARSIS, it should still be outside. They wouldn't have been able to move it. Take them there." It wouldn't change anything for these people, they were still going to die, but not like this.

_Please. _The voice was faint and for a moment the Doctor wasn't sure he had heard at all.

He could feel a bony yet solid grip on his left ankle. When he looked down, he saw one of the survivors clinging to him. But when he looked at his emaciated face, his mouth wasn't moving.

_Please don't take away the only thing we have left._It was weak voice, an old voice and the Doctor realized that it was only inside his mind that he could hear it. The connection was faint and the Doctor hadn't spoken telepathically to another being since the Time War. He had best tried to burry that part of his mind that yearned for mental contact with other Time Lords.

_We are the last. This is our home._

_I can't leave you here. There might something… _The Doctor didn't have a chance to finish the thought before the voice spoke again inside his head.

_We both know that there is nothing left to do for us but die. _He was really letting his mental discipline slip. That wouldn't have happened to him a regeneration or two ago.

_I'm sorry. I'm so sorry._

_You freed us. We are grateful._

The Doctor felt a sense of utter peace and contentment spreading through him. Purple cities under an amber sky, plains over silver grass under the pale light of three moons and deep blue waves lapping on glitter white sand flashed through the Doctor's mind. With a deep sigh resounding in his mind, the images slowly faded.

"What the…This simply isn't…"

The Doctor jolted back to reality to see McKay wearing an expression of shock and disbelief and Sheppard with an unreadable expression seemingly frozen on his face. The Doctor felt a pang of dismay at having taken advantage of the relative defencelessness of the human's mind.

Puzzled, the Doctor looked around the room. First, he noticed that the bodies were gone, and then he noticed the green crystal he was clutching in his right hand. It took a few seconds for the penny to drop, and then a smile formed on his face. His triumph was short lived, when the ground beneath him shook hard, throwing him off his feet. Something rumbled and growled deep underground and the ground shook and bucked once more. The Doctor was just clambering back to his feet, when he was confronted by the withering glare of Rodney McKay.

"I knew it! I don't know how and I'm starting to think I don't even want to know…"

With a deafening crack, the ground split open mere meters from where they were standing.

"No time for that now! The energy release is making this place highly unstable." The Doctor silently cursed he argumentative nature of the human race. "To the TARDIS. Quick!"

When the two humans failed to react, the Doctor suppressed a sigh and grabbed Rodney by the hand. "Run!" He screamed.

Apparently that did it and the two humans followed behind, more stumbling than running, but following nonetheless. He could hear muttered protests spiced with some insults regarding his intelligence, parentage and length of his legs from the scientist, but they made it to the TARDIS. A second later, the hall and presumably the rest of the building collapsed.

oOo

The Doctor managed to stay on his feet long enough to hit the recently installed emergency take-off designed to transport them to the safety of the vortex and remain there until an actual destination was entered. He spent a final thought complementing himself for thinking of making this excellent addition to the TARDIS, before he finally gave in to the strain of having his mind invaded repeatedly, being placed in suspended animation and revived again and being hooked up to an alien hive mind intent on sucking the life out of him. Blackness overwhelmed him and the Doctor knew no more.

oOo

Rodney gave his travel companions a worried gaze before turning back to the console. For the last twenty minutes, he had been trying to coax one of the many monitors and displays into giving him some sort of information about where and when they were. He had surmised that the regularly bobbing light of the central column meant that they were still in flight, or at least hovering somewhere in space and time. He still wasn't quite convinced that the Doctor knew what he was doing, but he had to concede that whoever he was, he had managed to get them out of this latest mess alive. Beyond that, Rodney really didn't want to speculate.

The Doctor hadn't moved since collapsing in a dead faint almost an hour ago. A cursory check had revealed that he was still alive, but that was all Rodney had been able to determine. There was something very odd about his pulse and he was cold to the touch, but Rodney wasn't sure whether it was a sign of ill health or merely part of some not-so-human physiology.

Deciding that for once in his life he didn't need or want to know, Rodney had turned his attention back to Sheppard. The colonel still sat in the some spot Rodney had put him after their mad dash back to the ship. He was staring into space with a worryingly empty gaze, as if in some sort of trace. The even more worrying thing was that he showed no signs of coming out of it and all of Rodney's, albeit awkward, attempts to rouse him had failed. Rodney felt utterly helpless. All he could do was sit in the huge control room and wait.

oOo

The Doctor snapped back to consciousness after exactly one hour and fifty-eight minutes (as the TARDIS ever so kindly informed him.) She also informed him of their current position – hovering peacefully in the vortex and the fact that despite temporarily having been buried under tons of rock, she had sustained only minimal damage. Satisfied that there was nothing requiring his immediate attention, he turned to his passengers.

Rodney was slumped in one of the seats attached to the railing, snoring quietly, Humans, the Doctor thought and smiled. As a Time Lord, he required only very little sleep. It took an unusual amount of physical and mental exertion for his body to demand an abrupt break from the conscious world. But thrice in one day was really pushing it – he thought ruefully. He was really getting old, he wondered shaking his head. Maybe he should mix himself a restorative drink in the med bay. He probably should try to find something for the colonel as well while he was at it. He was fairly certain the man would recover on his own given a few hours time. The minds of most humans didn't take well to intense psychic intervention and what the Doctor had done was in violation of quite of few rules of universal mental etiquette. At least, the military man would mostly likely have no memory of the experience.

The Doctor went to set the co-ordinates for Atlantis, planning their arrival a few hours after their departure. He wanted to avoid undue confusion and uncomfortable questions, but at the same time he thought it wouldn't be fair to Rose to let her wait (and probably worry) for too long.

oOo

Their return to Atlantis was fairly unceremonious. The TARDIS set down in the same spot she had landed in the first time. A quick check revealed that they had arrived around six hours after their departure and that it was currently early morning according to local time. Even though the sun wouldn't rise for a few hours, the City was well alive even now.

The Doctor let the two men lead the way, keeping in the background when they were greeted by a team of military men and medics. He idly wondered whether the explorers always expected their people to come back in pieces as the physician Beckett and two of his staff took custody of Sheppard. McKay followed the group down the corridor, leaving behind the Doctor on his own. The Doctor was about to slip back to the TARDIS when a voice from behind halted him.

"Doctor!" He turned around to find Dr. Weir, the expedition leader, looking at him expectantly. "I don't want to keep you here longer than neccessary, but there are a few questions that I'd like to have answered."

The Doctor flinched. "I'd love to stay and chat, but there is something I need to take care of. Well, two things actually," He amended, feeling the weight of the crystal in his suit pocket.

"I don't suppose there isn't any way I can convince you to stay," Dr. Weir admitted.

"Unlikely." The Doctor said with a nod. "But things should be getting back in normal now that the aliens have been removed from this dimension. It might take a few hours for the after-effects to wear off, but not to worry."

"Thank you, Doctor. I don't know who you and your friend are or where you're really from, but you picked the right moment to drop by."

"I do have a knack for that." The Doctor smiled and turned back towards his TARDIS. "

Within seconds, he had disappeared into the blue box and Dr. Weir was left to watch in astonishment as it faded out of existence with an unearthly whine.

oOo

When Rose woke from a restless sleep, it was still dark outside. With her back aching from sleeping on what felt like sheer rock, going back to sleep seemed impossible. Shivering and wishing she had taken at least a jean jacket with her; Rose went outside, taking care not to wake the two girls who were still fast asleep.

Despite the pre-dawn darkness, the first villagers were already up, working on their daily chores quietly. A group of women were gathered around a large fire and Rose could smell food being cooked. She spotted Teyla standing in the opening of her tent, steam rising from a cup in her hand. She greeted Rose with a bright smile. Rose didn't need to ask to know that the Doctor and the men from Atlantis had been successful. That in itself was a quite a relief, but Rose would have felt much better if the familiar shape of the TARDIS was shining through the nearby woods. Dejectedly, she sat down on a tree stump close by. It wasn't really fair, the Doctor stranding her on a planet, whose name she didn't even know, without saying so much as good-bye. He'd better come back in one piece, Rose thought darkly. After having spent less than a day Stone Age-style, she was starting to appreciate the inventions of actual beds and not to mention indoor plumbing. She was contemplating to investigate breakfast options when she heard the familiar sound of the TARDIS engines.

Rose jumped up and ran towards the spot where the ship was starting to materialize.

"Doctor!"

"I hope you had a better night than I had." The Doctor leaned in the opened door of the TARDIS, flashing a tired smile at Rose. "Come on, I know just the spot for the perfect breakfast."

"All right. I'll just say good-bye to Teyla and Liann." Rose said happily, thankful for the hospitality of the Athosians, but also glad to be reunited with the Doctor and the TARDIS.

To be concluded in the epilogue


	8. Chapter 8

oOo

The Doctor had insisted he go alone. He had only told her they would be making a quick stop before proceeding to Develon for the he best breakfast of her life. Rose had gotten a brief glimpse of an utterly desolate landscape before the doors of the TARDIS closed.

Rose checked her wristwatch impatiently even though she was never sure how reliable it was inside the TARDIS. The Doctor had been gone almost an hour. Rose was tempted to go after him, but something in his voice when he had told her to stay made her hesitate. With the Doctor it was easy to believe that being chased by all manner of aliens and running for their lives was actually fun, but Rose couldn't quite feel that way about their recent adventure.

The thrill of seeing the amazing and beautiful city of Atlantis seemed overshadowed by the terror that had overcome its residents. It wasn't anything particularly unusual; the Doctor seemed to have a knack for running into those kinds of situation. But something was different this time; the Doctor seemed tired, almost jaded. He had been taciturn since their departure in the TARDIS, almost falling completely silent after greeting her.

Rose was jarred from her maudlin thoughts when she heard the sound of the TARDIS door being opened. The Doctor was back, sans the green crystal he had taken with him when he had left the TARDIS.

"All done," He announced, leaning against the console.

"Is everything all right?" Rose asked when the Doctor made no movement to set the TARDIS in motion. For the first time since they had met, he seemed tired and weary.

"Of course," He replied, but it sounded as if he didn't believe it himself.

"What happened?"

"They showed me. They showed me what their planet was like, what it had been like." There was sadness in his voice

"Who?" Rose wanted to know, stepping closer to the Doctor. He didn't seem to notice her presence at all.

"They must have had an almost symbiotic relationship with it. Neither could exist without it."

Rose still wasn't sure what the Doctor was talking about. She only knew that his home planet had been destroyed in a war with the Daleks, a war which had wiped out both the Daleks and his people.

"Your planet, what was it called?" Rose asked.

The Doctor looked at her. "Gallifrey."

"Tell me about it."

Breakfast could wait.

oOo

Rodney had been hovering in the infirmary for as long as Beckett had tolerated him. When the physician had finally thrown him out, telling him to take a shower and something to eat, Rodney had sullenly retreated to his quarters, only stopping by the cafeteria to get some of the previous night's leftovers. Despite not having eaten anything in over twelve hours, aside from the apple juice Beckett had procured from somewhere to help him get his blood sugar back up to normal. Once the fuzziness in his head made way to clarity and his legs felt steady one again, the reality of their recent even by Pegasus Galaxy standards more than a little bit bizarre, started to sink in. Carson had assured him that he had run just about every conceivable scan and test and there was nothing to indicate that John had suffered any injury at all.

While that was good news, it didn't do much to reassure Rodney. The memory of John's empty eyes back when he had woken up after nearly dying was hard to suppress. Rodney had harboured fears he hadn't dared to voice until back on Atlantis. Words like 'oxygen deprivation' and 'brain damage' had been swirling through his mind. Carson had listed to him, asked him to tell him exactly what had happened on the planet and had proceeded to make his opinions of the Doctor clear.

Once he had finished his tirade, he had tried to assuage Rodney's fears, but while he had told him that there were no indications of any lasting ill effects, nor was Rodney's description of John's behaviour consistent with someone having suffered from anoxia. Carson couldn't say what had happened to John. He couldn't rule out the possibility of some sort of psychic shock due to the Doctor's influence. The study of psychic abilities wasn't exactly an established field and in fact, Teyla's telepathic contact with the Wraith and her ability to sense them was the only first hand observation he's been able to make. Nonetheless he had enlisted Dr. Biro's help with studying the information they had gathered while the Doctor had been in the infirmary earlier. Rodney had offered his help despite that fact that alien biology as about as far out of his field as possible.

Back in his quarters, Rodney couldn't find rest. His lingering headache had been soothed by aspirin and a hot shower, but his mind wouldn't let him sleep.

Giving up on sleep, Rodney put on a fresh uniform and headed for the nearest Ancient computer terminal. In their year of residence in the Pegasus Galaxy, they had made little progress in translating the vast database left behind by the Ancients. This time, Rodney knew what he was looking for. He recalled the Doctor's words in the control room. At the time, he had dismissed them as a wild story, but after all the impossible things he had seen in the past twenty-four hours, he was willing to entertain the notion that the Doctor really had met the Ancients while they still inhabited Atlantis. Rodney started to search the database.

oOo

"Who do you think they were, really? The Doctor and his friend," Rodney asked.

He and John were sitting on their favourite balcony, drinking the last two cans of beer left in the Pegasus Galaxy and watching the sunrise over the ocean. Rodney had been surprised when John had shown up at his door, with beer and two chocolate bars. His hair had still been wet (but no less wild than usual). He had been wearing jeans and a black tee-shirt. Rodney had hardly ever seen Sheppard in civilian clothes. He had started to wonder if he slept in his uniform, with his beloved P90 on the nightstand, true to the boy-scouts' motto. He hadn't said anything and Rodney could only assume that he was on the run from Beckett and his needles.

"I don't know. Does it matter?" John asked with a shrug and took another sip from his can. It was probably a bit early for spirits, but Beckett hadn't said he couldn't have alcohol. Technically, Beckett hadn't exactly released him either, he had legged it after Beckett had left to get some sleep, leaving a nurse who was sympathetic to John's plight in charge.

Rodney was about to protest that the Doctor had nearly gotten John killed, but he thought better of it. If John wanted to talk about it, he would bring it up.

Instead, Rodney settled for the practical. "I had a look in the database. The Time Lords are a myth; they were - even at the times of the Ancients. There is some interesting stuff there, most of which is pretty impossible…but it's only rumours." Rodney broke off, realizing that his enthusiasm was wasted on deaf ears.

John emptied his can and put it down next to the deck chair. "I don't think it really matters," He said absently, not really having listened to what Rodney had said. He didn't remember much of what had happened after they had broken out of the cell. There were images in his mind, fleeting and faint, gained in a fraction of a second but they were images of terrible destruction – entire planets burning, fire raining from the sky and the never-ending screams of a million voices. They reminded him of Athos burning, Sumner's screams aboard the Wraith ship, the wave of destruction and death that was sweeping through the galaxy because of what he had unleashed and the faces of the friends he'd lost in a war that seemed a lifetime ago.

John really wanted another beer.

The End


End file.
